Legal Services

"The law is nature. The law is only a word for what has a right to happen." (Arthur Miller)

Residential Property
Commercial Property
Corporate Law
Intellectual Property and IT
Employment Law
Private Client
Litigation
Family Law
Debt Recovery
Personal Injury
Professional Negligence

Residential Property

We deal with all aspects relating to property transactions including buying, selling, remortgaging, leasing, transfers of title and providing advice on general property related matters.

With years of experience in the property market and with our knowledge of local price trends, we can help you with your purchase of your new home by advising you on the correct type of survey you should obtain and on the price to offer. By negotiating with the Selling Agents, we can save you money when it comes to purchasing your new home.

Throughout the course of your property transaction, (whether it be buying or selling your property), you will be supported by a friendly helpful team who will remove much of the stress usually experienced in moving home. We pride ourselves in offering a personal and efficient conveyancing service.

The internet and our computer technology allows us to provide a personal and friendly service to our clients and provide an efficient and cost effective conveyancing service to house movers, mortgage lenders and estate agents throughout Scotland.

Commercial Property

We handle all aspects of commercial property work acting largely for developers, institutional purchasers, sellers and lenders as well as landlords and tenants.

We appreciate that successful acquisitions, financing, site assemblies and developments need a well managed legal team working hand in hand with other professional advisers. We have experience in a wide range of projects and within various sectors and product groups including factories, warehousing, and production facilities, housebuilding, housing associations, retail, business and leisure parks and joint ventures.

Such projects can involve a variety of complex legal issues and we are able to draw expertise and support from specialists in the following areas: banking and commercial, construction, property management, environmental and planning. The law relating to property, the planning and other administrative restrictions that affect development are continually evolving. This, and everyday commercial considerations, call for an imaginative and flexible approach to help us meet our clients’ needs.

The team also works on the property aspects of insolvency related work acting for administrators, liquidators, receivers and trustees in bankruptcy.

Corporate Law

We believe that no two companies or businesses are the same. In today’s ever changing marketplace businesses need a flexible and proactive approach to survive. So, regardless of your size, structure or business sector, our team can be considered as part of your team. We aim to listen to and understand your needs so that we provide a user friendly, flexible and cost effective approach. We will supply you not only with the legal advice and documentation to put your business on the right footing but also hopefully give you the competitive advantage.

Our Corporate team covers a wide range of transactions. We advise start ups and established businesses on the full range of commercial issues including company formation and management, contract preparation and negotiation, agency and distribution agreements, trading terms & conditions, partnership arrangements and joint ventures, and restructuring as well as ongoing advice in relation to regulatory matters and corporate governance, data protection, intellectual property and IT law, and shareholders rights and obligations.

We have expertise in mergers and acquisitions and disposals ranging from smaller private company disposals upwards. Our key focus area is, however, the owner managed business. We take great care to ensure that our advice is both correct and practical using our multi-discipline teams to highlight the key legal issues involved in running a business including company structure, funding issues, employment issues, protecting intellectual property and sourcing trading premises through our commercial property team.

Intellection Property and IT

The different forms of intellectual property rights arising under the law for the protection of inventions, products and designs are many and varied. The firm advises on, negotiates, litigates and documents all aspects of IP. Our advice covers copyright, patents, trade marks, design rights, database rights, confidentiality agreements, licensing, trade secrets, internet issues, data protection, commercial drafting and infringement advice. We also deal with applications for registration of patents, trademarks and registered design and give advice on intellectual property and IT aspects of mergers and acquisitions work.

The rapid growth of the internet has helped to make ’know-how’ one of the most important assets on a company’s balance sheet. In addition this means that an ever-increasing number of technology and other infrastructure suppliers, access providers and trading organisations require legal advice on regulatory matters including IP on the internet as well as on web design and development agreements, webhosting agreements, outsourcing and computer contracts generally.

Our experience is wide-ranging both in terms of the industry and the service sectors in which our clients operate and the issues on which we advise. Our clients include businesses based in the media and creative industries, the educational sector and science and technology sector.

Like the rest of the firm, the practice area prides itself on giving practical and commercial advice to our clients; we work closely with clients in understanding their commercial objectives and regard our knowledge of their industry and market as central to this. The practice area also has well-established contacts with other professionals in the field and with Counsel and patent and trade mark agents who can be consulted should the need arise.

We have extensive experience of contentious and non-contentious matters across the entire spectrum of Intellectual Property and Information Technology and regularly assist clients both with obtaining and maintaining protection for their inventions, brands, commercial and creative designs, trade secrets, software, data and whatever else may be the subject of intellectual property protection.

Employment Law

We provide a wide range of employment-related advice on both contentious and non-contentious issues, including unfair dismissal, redundancy, transfer of undertakings (TUPE) and contracts of employment.

Private Client

We provides expert guidance in relation to residential property, taxation and all private client issues. Whether you wish to prepare or update your Will, have had a change in your personal circumstances, are concerned about preserving your assets or wish to discuss how to manage the affairs of an elderly member of your family, we are here to help.

Litigation

Disputes can be costly and disruptive for you both as business people and as an individual. That is why our philosophy as litigators is that you should be out of them as quickly and as effectively as possible.

We are regularly instructed on a broad spread of business disputes, many of which call for specialised expertise allied with general commercial litigation experience. We have a strong background in professional negligence claims, medical negligence, commercial disputes, family law issues, employment, construction, personal injury and insolvency matters. We have a wealth of experience in representation in both the Sheriff Court and Court of Session as well as in front of the commercial court and in front of various tribunals and inquiries. We also participate in arbitrations, mediations, adjudications and Alternative Dispute Resolution.

Family Law

We are able to offer advice and representation in all aspects of Family Law such as obtaining Parental Rights, Contact and Residence Orders for unmarried fathers and separated parents, achieving out-of-court settlements in separation and divorce cases and complex divorces involving high net worth individuals. Our clients receive expert advice on divorce, selling or transferring title in a matrimonial property or arranging a new will post separation. We strive to keep abreast of all new developments in order to provide up-to-date and accurate guidance in all areas of Family Law.

Debt Recovery

We collect debts on behalf of banks, limited companies, partnerships and sole traders. We also have close working relationships with a number of major insolvency practices and a considerable amount of work is done not only in initiating insolvency procedures such as bankruptcy and liquidation but also providing a comprehensive legal service by way of litigation and corporate and property advice to insolvency practices.

Personal Injury

We have extensive experience of dealing with cases in the Court of Session and Sheriff Courts in both pursuer and defender personal injury work.

In our defender work, we act for several of the UK’s largest insurers. In our pursuer work, we act for a number of legal expenses insurers. We specialise in cases involving road traffic accidents, professional negligence and product liability. Given the cost of litigation, we appreciate the need to undertake a full investigation of all facts of the case at the earliest possible opportunity to enable us to return to the client with a detailed report on the merits of the case. We use the latest in computer technology and case management systems to ensure that all our cases are dealt with in the most efficient and cost-effective manner. We are able to electronically report to our clients on a regular basis with an update on the status of each case. We are also preparing our computer system and website to allow our clients to access their files and financial information through their own computer systems.

Professional Negligence

The duty of care owed by professionals in all disciplines is to exercise reasonable skill and care. In today’s world everyone is under more and more pressure and errors or alleged errors are inevitable especially where matters are complex or judgements have to be made in short timescales.

We advise on all aspects of the duties owed by professionals. We can help you with the formation of professional appointments and assist in dealing with allegations of professional negligence or breach of contract. Our approach is pragmatic, seeking a solution to the problem.

We advise engineers, architects, surveyors, solicitors, individuals and their insurers on negligence arising from a wide range of projects such as complex high value actions to smaller actions. Working closely with our clients, we analyse the problem, seeking assistance and input from independent experts in their field as required.